Department for Exiting the European Union

UK Trade with EU

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are taking any steps to maintain regulatory alignment to the single market.

lord callanan: We are fully focused on making the UK’s exit from the EU, and our new trading relationship with the world, a success. We have set out proposals for an ambitious future trade and customs relationship with the EU, in which we will look to minimise the regulatory barriers for both goods and services. We want to agree the greatest possible tariff- and barrier-free trade with our European neighbours. But there will be areas that affect our economic relations where we and our European friends may have different goals; or where we share the same goals but want to achieve them through different means. We recognise that the single market is built on a balance of rights and obligations, and so our task is to find a new framework that allows for a close economic partnership but holds those rights and obligations in a new and different balance.

Customs Unions

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the speech by the Director-General of theConfederation of British Industry on 22 January proposing that a comprehensive customs union between the UK and the EU should be on the table as part of the Brexit negotiations.

lord callanan: As the Prime Minister has made clear, on leaving the EU, the UK will also be leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union. We will seek to establish a new and ambitious customs arrangement with the EU that allows us to forge new trading relationships with our partners around the world, while maintaining as frictionless trade as possible in goods between the UK and EU, and providing a positive and powerful voice for free trade.In our future customs arrangements paper, we set out our two preferred models for a future customs arrangement with the EU. In assessing the options for the UK’s future outside the EU Customs Union, the Government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK, and by three strategic objectives: Ensuring UK-EU trade is as frictionless as possible;Avoiding a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland;And establishing an independent international trade policy.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Asylum

baroness taylor of bolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to recover the cost of NHS treatment from failed asylum seekers.

lord o'shaughnessy: Some groups of failed asylum seekers are exempt from charge for National Health Service secondary care under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended.In situations where charges do apply to overseas visitors for NHS secondary care, including where the person is a failed asylum seeker, providers of that care must make and recover charges from the person liable where this is possible.Where a clinician considers the need of the overseas visitor to be non-urgent in that treatment can safely wait until the person returns to their home country, payment must be received in advance of the provision of the treatment.Immediately necessary treatment or urgent treatment, which clinicians assess as being unable to wait the person’s return to their home country, will not be withheld pending payment. It is a matter for the provider of NHS secondary care services what measures it takes to recover costs from overseas visitors that have received services to which they are not entitled free of charge, which might include agreeing a repayment plan with the patient or writing the debt off as unrecoverable.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Imports

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of food consumed in the UK was imported in (1) 1990, (2) 1995, (3) 2000, (4) 2005, (5) 2010, (6) 2015, and (7) 2017.

lord gardiner of kimble: The proportion of food consumed that was imported is shown in the table below. Data is not yet available for 2017. The latest figures are for 2016. Origins of domestic consumption 1990 – 2016  1990199520002005201020152016Rest of World34%38%44%49%49%48%51% A full time series of data from 1988 and for all world regions is available in the Agriculture in the UK Chapter 14 data set on the GOV.UK website.

Aarhus Convention

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to assist the UN Economic Commission for Europe Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee withthat Committee'sconsideration of a complaint by Friends of the Earth regarding the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherthey intend to table amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, following the preliminary ruling of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee on the admissibility of a complaint alleging that the Bill is incompatiblewith the Convention.

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following a complaint to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee by Friends of the Earth regarding the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, whether they intend to formally consult on the environmental aspects of Brexit.

lord gardiner of kimble: The purpose of the Withdrawal Bill is to provide a functioning statute book on the day we leave the EU – it is an essential Bill in the national interest. While we cannot comment on proceedings, we believe we have complied with all of the relevant obligations in developing this crucial legislation, and remain committed to maintaining high environmental standards. We will be submitting our full response to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in due course.